Care Home Owners Will Not Face Trial Over Fatal Blaze

The decision to drop criminal charges against the owners of a care home where 14 elderly residents died in a fire was upheld at the appeal court. Thomas Balmer, 59, his wife Anne, 59, and their son, Alan, 33, had been due to stand trial over alleged safety breaches at the Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston, Lanarkshire.

Prosecutors launched a legal challenge after a judge dismissed the charges over a legal technicality.

Lord Hardie made the ruling at the High Court in Glasgow in February this year because of the way the charges had been framed on the indictment by the Crown Office. He said they related to the employer and, the Balmers were partners in the firm running the home, not employers.

The Appeal Court in Edinburgh refused the Crown’s appeal against his decision. The Balmers welcomed the judgment. Thomas Balmer said: “The families of the victims, our staff and our family have been put through a long and agonising process and we are pleased the appeal court upheld the previous ruling.”

The Rosepark blaze, in January 2004, was one of the worst tragedies in Scotland in recent years. Fourteen residents died and several others were injured when a fire broke out in a downstairs cupboard in the care home.